In recent years, crowdfunding has emerged as a financing model that allows smaller funders to invest in projects and organizations in their early stages – particularly those that would otherwise struggle to obtain capital. Peer-to-peer funding experiments first emerged in the nonprofit sector, but have since expanded to the realms of for-profit investment and political activism. The proliferation of crowdfunding models and uses requires a nuanced policy response, one that balances the imperative to support the growth of small businesses and new jobs with safeguards for investor protection.